Virtual ArtSmart Talk for Patron+ Members
Dale Benson, chief preparator
The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, from above.
The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Photo by Peter Molick
For MFAH members at the Patron level and above
Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at 6 p.m.Central Time
► Register in advance
Dale Benson, the Museum’s chief preparator, provides a behind-the-scenes look at executing the installation of more than 1,000 works of art in the new Nancy and Rich Kinder Building—in just 51 days. The enormous undertaking included installing two massive site-specific works: Byung Hoon Choi’s Scholar’s Way and Cristina Iglesias’s Inner Landscape (the lithosphere, the roots, the water).
Planning began a year in advance, and despite the obstacles presented by a hurricane and an international pandemic, Benson and his team were able to meet the November 21, 2020, deadline for the public opening. At the same time, they exceeded the exactingly high standards Museum visitors have come to expect.